The soldiers also said Saddam was a “clean freak” who washed after shaking hands and used diaper wipes to clean meal trays, utensils and table before eating. “He had germophobia or whatever you call it,” Dawson said.

For a time his favorite snack was Cheetos, and when that ran out, Saddam would “get grumpy,” the story said. One day, guards substituted Doritos corn chips, and Saddam forgot about Cheetos. “He’d eat a family size bag of Doritos in 10 minutes,” Dawson said.